Hooray for Boobies!

Mummy Alarm has come up with 9 interesting questions for the mummy blogging community to celebrate breastfeeding. Here are my answers…

1. Why did you choose boob over bottle?

I didn’t even consider formula over breastfeeding – I knew it was possible that I might have to if I couldn’t feed for any reason, but I was determined to give it my very best shot and only use the bottle as a last resort.

2. How long did you breastfeed or are you planning to breastfeed?

Like Mummy Alarm, we are nearly at 10 months breastfeeding and still loving it. My original plan was to phase out the breast at about a year but I am not sure about that now, as Georgie is still feeding a lot at the moment, and we both really enjoy our special milky milk time! At the moment I’m thinking that I’d like to stop sometime in the summer, as we would like to try for no. 2 around September, and I want to have finished feeding Georgie before getting pregnant again.

3. What is the best thing about breastfeeding?

It has to be the incredible bond Georgie and I have as a result of our time breastfeeding – there is nothing quite like it when she is snuggled up to me sleepily having her feed. It’s the fix-all solution for a grumpy baby as well – if she is crying and I pick her up and offer her the breast the tears instantly stop and her mouth opens wide. I think part of the bonding experience is down to the fact that you have so much enforced mummy-baby time, as opposed to formula fed babies who have their bottle from a variety of people!

4. Did you have to overcome challenges on your breastfeeding journey?

I consider myself quite lucky – I did have a bit of discomfort occasionally in the first month but otherwise it has been a fairly trouble-free journey. There were some initial problems in the first few days as Georgie wouldn’t latch on for long enough to have a decent feed as she was so tired out from the ridiculously long labour, so she lost 10% of her birth weight. Once we cracked the fact she liked to cluster feed for six hours sprawled out on her back on my lap, instead of any of the recommended feeding positions, and then sleep for 18 hours we were doing great! The midwives tried to get me to wake her up every 3 hours to latch her on instead of her weird routine, but that just resulted in a super grumpy baby who cried, wouldn’t latch, and went back to sleep!

5. Who supported you the most with breastfeeding?

My husband has definitely been a fantastic help – he is always happy to fetch me a drink or a snack when I’m feeding (so basically I have had a waiter service for going on 10 months now), and he was incredibly supportive during the early weeks when Georgie was having her 6 hours of cluster feeds at mad times of the night and then sleeping all day. I used to call him on his mobile to help me get her transferred into her crib at 4 o’clock in the morning!

6. How did you feel when you first breastfed in public?

I was really nervous the first few times I did it, but also felt quite strongly about the fact I was going to be ok with feeding in public. I believe that it is a completely natural, normal thing to do – and that there is no shame in it, so why should I hide away indoors or in toilets instead of staying where it is comfortable? My first time was in a local pub; James & I sat at a table in the corner that had a comfy bench seat in case I needed to feed her and I ended up squirting milk all over the table, oops! A couple of old ladies gave me a bit of a look and moved seats but that just made me more determined to feed my baby when she needed it, wherever I was!

7. Have you been questioned for breastfeeding?

Yes, a couple of times. The worst one was at a baby & toddler group of all places – one of the women who organises it informed me that she had let their male helper know not to come into the main room because someone was breastfeeding (!!) and would I like to go into a little room to feed her instead of staying in the baby area, and she’s quite old to be breastfed now, isn’t she? As she was only 5 months at the time I was astounded. I think the questions will only get worse as she gets older!

8. Has breastfeeding made you feel different about your body?

In a way, yes – I am more confident in public about it in some ways, and less in others. I am definitely able to view “getting my boobs out” as a completely non-sexual thing when I’m feeding, and I find that adopting this matter-of-fact attitude when feeding around other people helps them feel more comfortable.

9. What do you wish you had known before making the decision to breastfeed your baby?

I think I would have liked to have known more about the facts of it all – how it works and why certain things are so important. Since starting my breastfeeding buddy course the whole thing has just fascinated me. It’s important to know that there are no hard & fast rules on how to do it either, you just have to go with what suits you and your baby. We struggled with trying to follow the instructions but as long as you have a good latch and you’re comfortable you shouldn’t worry too much about whether your baby is in the same position that they show in the pictures, or obsess over timings!